Rangers hold a long-term interest in Sunderland striker Ross Stewart but currently don’t have the finances to secure a £10m deal, according to the Daily Record.

The report claims that Brentford and Bournemouth are also interested in signing the savvy forward who has 11 goals in 14 games for the Black Cats this season.

The Daily Record state that Sunderland would want £10m for Stewart, something Ross County would profit from after they inserted a sell-on clause when they sold Stewart to Sunderland in 2021.

“Bournemouth and Brentford could open the Premier League door to Scotland star Ross Stewart,” as quoted by the Daily Record. (26 January)

“Recent reports have claimed that Sunderland would want £10 million to sell their top striker [Football Insider]. The former Ross County star has 18 months left on his contract but talks over a new deal are unlikely to get off the ground.

“If Sunderland were to sell than Ross County would be in the money as part of the sell-on they inserted when they sold Stewart to Sunderland in January 2021.

“Rangers have also maintained a long-term interest but don’t, currently, have the finances to do a deal in this window.”

Valuable.

Stewart is definitely the kind of forward Rangers should be making a move for and it’s annoying to see that “finances” are yet again getting in the way of a potential deal, although £10m sounds like silly money.

With Kemar Roofe always apparently injured and Alfredo Morelos’ future up in the air, there is certainly room in the squad for another forward to challenge Antonio Colak.

Perhaps a move for Stewart this month isn’t on the table, with the three options listed above already available to Beale but why not make a summer move for the Sunderland forward?

Funds may be more freed up by that point and it seems like Beale is getting his way in terms of transfers he wants at the club so far during his short reign.

There will be a massive squad overhaul in the summer too, so there is arguably no better time than then to bring in fresh legs and faces to Ibrox.

Long-term interest in Stewart will be real and hopefully, the Light Blues can make a concrete offer to the Scotland international before he’s snapped up by a Premier League club.

In other Rangers news, a club in Europe holds the option to re-sign a player from Ibrox whenever they like.

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We’re delighted to welcome Tam McManus as our exclusive Rangers columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…

Tam McManus believes Todd Cantwell “fits the profile” for Rangers as the Scottish Premiership club beat competition from several Championship teams to sign the 24-year-old.

Rangers confirmed the signing of Cantwell on Monday (23 January) after exiting English Championship club Norwich.

Cantwell becomes the first senior signing of the Michael Beale era with the player signing for a fee in the region of £1.5million.

Beale’s side managed to secure the former England Under-21 international at a cut price with Cantwell scheduled to be out of contract in the summer.

McManus gave his thoughts to Ibrox News about the signing of Cantwell, saying: “It’s been in the pipeline for a while and he fits the profile of what Rangers want.

“They want to buy younger players, they want to buy players from a good level and he’s a player who’s been at Norwich for a long time.

“It’s a fresh opportunity for him and it’ll benefit him as much as Rangers.

“He’s a quality player who’s been at a good level at Norwich and I think he’ll come in and do well at Rangers.”

Cantwell made 129 appearances for Norwich scoring 14 goals and providing 12 assists.

He could be in line to make his Rangers debut on Saturday as the Glasgow club host St. Johnstone.

In other Rangers news, a club in Europe holds the option to re-sign a player from Ibrox whenever they like.

This article was originally posted here

Rangers are continuing in talks for Nicolas Raskin despite a rejected bid as the club want “pace and tricks” and he fits the bill, according to Football Scotland.

The 21-year-old midfielder is a long-term target at Ibrox and with him having just six months left on his contract and being left to train with the reserves in Belgium the Gers are looking to take advantage.

Football Scotland report that the club had “hoped” to sell Glen Kamara in order to fund a move for Raskin while Giovanni van Bronckhorst was in charge.

Kamara was in line for a move to France in the summer, but nothing ever materialised and the club are hoping he can recover his form and transfer value at Ibrox [The Athletic 26 December].

They are now pushing to make Raskin Michael Beale’s second signing after Todd Cantwell arrived from Norwich, but suggestions from Belgium that the young midfielder has already passed a medical in Glasgow are being roundly rejected in Scottish reports.

The first Rangers offer, reported to be in the “high six figures” [Daily Record, 26 January], has been rejected because Standard Liege want more for him and negotiations continue for the deal.

Almost there

It makes sense for all parties to get this deal done before the close of the window so if one or both sides can swallow some pride and compromise Raskin should arrive at Ibrox before the deadline passes.

Pace and tricks isn’t what Kamara offers so the previous plan to sell one and acquire the other certainly wasn’t a like for like.

But if that’s what Rangers envisage Raskin providing from central midfield it should certainly improve the dynamism of the position.

With Kamara, John Lundstram and Ryan Jack in central areas the midfield is usually pretty solid but can lack a cutting edge, so if Raskin can be secured this month, and can potentially link up with Malik Tillman further forward, then the side should be able to break down stubborn defences better.

The Rangers hierarchy were able to negotiate a very similar situation in relation to contracts and long-term prospects at his previous club to get Cantwell’s move completed so there should be a decent chance of a repeat here.

Raskin has long been linked to Ibrox and now looks like the best opportunity to get him in for a fee that isn’t prohibitive so the final days will be watched closely.

In other Rangers news, one club figure is leaving next month to a foreign side, the move has been green-lit already.

This article was originally posted here